News Archives

Friday, January 29, 2016

Crunch Time in Brussels for Safe Harbor Talks

With the official work week now over in Europe, the International Business Times reported that EU and US officials were engaged in intensive negotiations in Brussels, with the talks expected to continue through the weekend, in an effort to reach agreement on a new Safe Harbor framework. While the Judiciary Committee of the US Senate finally approved the Judicial Redress Act yesterday, January 28, a crippling amendment, sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), was included that undercut whatever good will final ultimate passage of the bill might achieve. Meanwhile, EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova is expected to update the European Parliament on the status of the negotiations on Monday at 2:45 EST. The Article 29 Working Party will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday, February 2 and 3, to discuss the outcome of the talks and to plan for coordinated enforcement actions should no agreement be reached.